Savings shopping bag

ABSTRACT

A reusable shopping bag comprising: a body portion; a pair of handles, where each is placed on each side of the body portion; an inner compartment, where said inner compartment provides for placement of items; and an UPC code on the outer surface of the bag. In one particular embodiment, the body portion may be made of a washable reusable material, where the washable reusable material may be hemp, canvas or cotton. The UPC code enables a shopper to receive discounts on items in the inner compartment as part of an advantage shopping club for a participating retailer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/302,390 filed on Feb. 8, 2010.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention The present invention relates to a tote bag that includes an imprinted discount UPC where the bag is reusable by the shopper.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years many grocery stores have started encouraging shoppers to use reusable shopping bags. Presently, most grocery stores supply bags are made of polyethylene, which is a plastic and therefore derived from natural gas and petroleum. As a consequence, use of plastic grocery bags can have a negative effect on the environment. First, the plastic bags are made of petroleum products and therefore are derived of a nonrenewable energy source. In addition, the bags are frequently not recycled and therefore can become a littering problem possibly creating a hazard for animal life. Also statistics have shown that the plastic grocery bag is not an item that is frequently recycled and based upon some studies only 1 percent of the plastic bags consumed have been recycled.

Many grocery stores have encouraged the use of recycled, reusable shopping bags that are purchased and made of more durable materials in order to use them on several trips to the grocery store. Because these bags are reusable, it could be advantageous to tie in the reusable shopping bag with a discount savings that could benefit the consumer. Therefore the reusable shopping bag can serve two purposes of reducing use of plastic bags and provide the shopper with a discount coupon that may be used for purchases. Many grocery stores provide shoppers with an advantage card or a small card that includes a UPC code that is scanned in order to reflect discounts realized due to using the card. It would therefore be advantageous to combine these concepts into a reusable shopping bag that includes a UPC code to provide the shopper with discount savings upon use of the bag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a reusable shopping bag comprising: a body portion; a pair of handles, where each is placed on each side of the body portion; an inner compartment, where said inner compartment provides for placement of items; and an UPC code on the outer surface of the bag. In one particular embodiment, the body portion may be made of a washable reusable material, where the washable reusable material may be hemp, canvas or cotton. The UPC code enables a shopper to receive discounts on items in the inner compartment as part of an advantage shopping club for a participating retailer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a cost savings of reusable shopping bag in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a reusable shopping bag that is specifically directed toward retail or grocery sales. The reusable bag may be used by the consumer in order to reduce and eliminate the use of plastic bags that are traditionally used in grocery stores. The reusable shopping bag according to present invention provides a unique tie-in where the store clerk may scan a UPC code on the bag to provide the consumer with a discounted price on certain sales items. The placement of the UPC code on the shopping bag helps to encourage use of the reusable shopping bag and eliminates the use of plastic cards that are normally distributed with the advantage shopping clubs that are formed by many grocery stores.

A reusable shopping bag 100 is depicted in FIG. 1. The reusable shopping bag 100 includes a pair of handles 22 a, 22 b. The bag body portion 20 is made of a washable reusable material such as hemp, canvas, cotton or other durable material. The body portion 20 includes a UPC code 30 on the outer surface thereof and may be unique for each individual shopper. Use of the UPC code 30 enables the shopper to receive discounts on various items as part of an advantage shopping club for the particular retailer or grocery store. The tie in of the UPC code with the reusable bag therefore encourages use of reusable bag and provides the consumer with an extra benefit—discount savings on merchandise. The bag 100 opens and provides an inner compartment 24 for the placement of items purchased by the consumer.

The reusable shopping bag 100 according to the present invention provides both a cost savings for the consumer and cost savings for the retailer. By increasing use of a reusable shopping bag in accordance with the present invention, the retailer reaps the benefits of reduced cost associated with purchases of a traditional plastic grocery bag and helps the retailer to promote reduction in the use of non-renewable energy sources. Also the use of the UPC code upon the bag encourages the consumer to use the reusable bag not only for environmental purposes but for also taking advantage of discounts available by use of the reusable bag. The instant invention has been shown and described in what it considers to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made there from within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. 

1. A reusable shopping bag comprising: a. a body portion; b. a pair of handles, where each is placed on each side of the body portion; c. an inner compartment, where said inner compartment provides for placement of items; and d. an UPC code on the outer surface of the bag.
 2. The reusable shopping bag according to claim 1, where the body portion is made of a washable reusable material.
 3. The reusable shopping bag according to claim 1, where the washable reusable material is selected from the group consisting of hemp, canvas and cotton.
 4. The reusable shopping bag according to claim 1, where the UPC code enables a shopper to receive discounts on items in the inner compartment as part of an advantage shopping club for a participating retailer. 